Rework MSWord Styles logic- AskMe - shouldn't need 3rdparty addon

[ColinM]

copyright - all rights reserved to CMI - Thursday 18 May AEST

Nothing is more annoying for a MSWord user than to deal with the fickle
aftermath of Style formatting, whether importing text into a document from
another document; cutting and pasting from differnt documents or even trying
to print a document on a different computer, which happens to have a stuffed
"Normal" template or has "automatic Update" set to on in the template. Not to
mention the basic logical conflicts when updating numbered lists within
"modify".

Sometimes more flexibility is less productivity.

It should be a simple matter to:
-create a "house style"
-adapt the house style to different document types
-strip foreign styles to a consitent base
-fix pagination on a document without having to .pdf the file
-produce larger documents without glitches
-print on a "foreign" setup - remote from originator's office

I don't know exactly how to do this BUT
I expect a market leader in software to produce a product which does NOT
1. need 3rd party add-ins to get some productivity out of it
2. integrates seamlessly with the software companies other products
3. gets the job done in less time - not more time
4. builds on 5 centuries of experience in the evolution of printing
processes rather than:
5. tries to reinvent the EGG & scarbmales it.

As someone who has hand-set type (yes a disappearing art);
printed by L E T T E R P R E S S on a Payne & Sons flatbed Wharfdale press;
typeset on an "IBM (golfball) Compositor" with the memory of a pidgeon; cut
and pasted "galley's" with a real knife and lettered headings with "Letraset"
and "stencils", I have no desire to retreat into past technologies.

I am happy to help by setting out some basic LOGIC to guide MS towards
something really workable. Happy to help. Just Ask.

This is looking like a reasonable article. Might publish so copyright is
reserved.

ColinM




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[Charles Kenyon]

Not copyrighted.

Styles actually work pretty well doing everything you mention, but the
person doing it does have to understand how they work.
http://addbalance.com/usersguide/styles.htm and
http://www.shaunakelly.com/word/styles/TipsOnStyles.html. You may also want
to look at the IncludeText tutorial at
http://addbalance.com/word/download.htm.
--
Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory: http://addbalance.com/word

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide) http://addbalance.com/usersguide




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from my ignorance and your wisdom.

 

[Klaus Linke]

Hi Colin,

Your premises are mostly wrong.

Nothing is more annoying for a MSWord user than to deal with the
fickle aftermath of Style formatting, whether importing text into a
document from another document;

That would be easy as cake if most documents weren't formatted manually, or
with a mixture of style formatting and manual formatting.

cutting and pasting from differnt documents

Same issue. No problem at all if you understand styles and use them.

or even trying to print a document on a different computer,
which happens to have a stuffed "Normal" template

The Normal.dot on the target computer has no influence at all on the doc you
open.
The printer driver has a small influence on the appearance... But would you
really prefer that Word uses the lowest common denominator of all available
printers, and not use any of the nifty features of your expensive model?

or has "automatic Update" set to on in the template.

Again, can't happen. "Automatic update" has to be set in your document to
have any effect, and in that case, it's your choice and responsibility.

Not to mention the basic logical conflicts when updating numbered lists
within "modify".

That's the only point with which I have to agree somewhat. It's entirely
possible to do it, but too difficult.

Word2007 introduces a lot of changes regarding styles that address many of
your wishes.
I'm not sure I like those changes, since they add still more layers of
complexity and make it still easier for users to shoot themselves in the
foot.

Regards,
Klaus

 

[Klaus Linke]

Hi again,

Let me try to tackle the second part of your post, too.

It should be a simple matter to:
-create a "house style"

You don't seem to use "style" here in the technical sense, so I am not sure
what you mean.
In general, you are better off not to create styles. Why reinvent the wheel
when Word has built-in styles for headings, body text, footnotes and
anything else you might wish for?
So you don't create styles, you modify them. And that isn't hard at all.

-adapt the house style to different document types

That's what templates are for. Learn about them.

-strip foreign styles to a consitent base

How? Should Word guess which styles to remove?
Because everybody decided like you that (s)he needs to create his/her own
"house styles" with cryptic names and unclear purpose, that's not really
possible.
If people would use what is there, you wouldn't have to strip anything.
Sadly, the real problem is much worse. If people would use styles at all, it
would be pretty easy to replace any style you don't want with one of your
own. But since most users apply manual formatting to a random assortment of
styles, that is rarely possible.

-fix pagination on a document without having to .pdf the file

Answered in my first post. As an example: Your laser printer likely has
built-in fonts. They are commercial fonts that cost a lot, and have good
kerning for first class documents. Would you rather have these nice fonts
not available (so as not to risk that Word has to substitute another font on
a different machine, resulting in a different look and pagination)?

-produce larger documents without glitches

I produce documents of 100-500 pages daily without any glitch whatsoever.

-print on a "foreign" setup - remote from originator's office

See above and my previous post. Printing isn't a problem, except if your
requirement is that the document prints exactly the same everywhere. Most
users don't have that requirement, and you could use PDF for that purpose
(built into Word in the next version).

Regards,
Klaus